Andy Reid started it, the columnists and sports talkers continued it and, well, I'm going to keep it going: Is Donovan McNabb a Hall of Fame quarterback right now? I asked the Eagles quarterback -- who turned 33 today -- that very question at his news conference. The question was prefaced with the statement that the topic was a hot one on local airwaves, Web sites and newspapers.

"Really?" McNabb said with mock astonishment.

So where do you stand, Don, on the question?

"I'm a football player just playing football," McNabb said. "If that was to happen, that's great. If not, I think everything that I've been able to accomplish and took to accomplish in the next few years, that's something you can't take away from me. You can't take away the body of work of any individual who's playing in any sport. Everybody focuses so much on numbers. They can take whatever opinion they want from it. But I know one guy who should be in the Hall of Fame who's not and that's Harold Carmichael. So there's a lot more to making the Hall of Fame then just one person saying he should be a Hall of Famer."

McNabb was then asked if a quarterback has to win a Super Bowl to be Hall of Fame worthy.

"I don't think with any player you need to win a Super Bowl or world championship to make the Hall of Fame," said McNabb, who will pass Ron Jaworski as the Eagles' all-time leader in games played for a quarterback with his 144th this Sunday. "Again it goes back to your body of work and how effective you were for your team and how much of a threat you were playing against other teams. How teams game planned to stop you. How teams feared the talents that you presented to them. I think there's a lot that goes into. Dan Marino and a bunch of other players -- I think Fran Tarkenton didn't win a Super Bowl. But they're still Hall of Famers."

The Eagles are 87-48-1 when he starts. He's reached four NFC championship games and is 1-4 in those contests. He's 0-1 in the Super Bowl.

Dissect away ...

In other news, cornerback Asante Samuel and linebacker Akeem Jordan did not practice today. Reid said that wide receiver Kevin Curtis (knee) and running back Brian Westbrook (concussion) were out for Sunday's game against the Redskins. Reid said that Westbrook has begun exercising this week.